After two weeks off for the holidays, the East Central University women's basketball team will return to the court and to Great American Conference action, Thursday, Jan. 2 when they travel to Monticello, Ark., to battle with Arkansas-Monticello at 5:30 p.m. at Steelman Fieldhouse.

Game Notes

The Broadcast
ECU's radio home for Lady Tigers basketball in 2013-14 is Ada's KXFC, 105.5, FM 'The X-Factor'. Kenny Morrison returns to broadcast the games for his 17th season. Morrison, a 1987 ECU graduate, spent two seasons doing color prior to taking over the play-by-play duties during the 1997-98 season.

The Coverage
Fans who can't be at the game can find links to live stats, live video (if available) and the KXFC radio broadcast on ECUTigers.com.  Go to the women's basketball schedule page. Fans can listen to the radio broadcast online or through the FREE KXFC App available in ITunes, Google Stores where apps are sold and www.kxfcradio.com.

Scouting Arkansas-Monticello
The Cotton Blossoms are 5-4 overall and 1-2 in the GAC after earning a 101-44 win vs. Crowley's Ridge College Dec. 21.

UAM is a strong shooting team, with a .455 shooting percentage, but they also allow a .442 mark.  They have a large advantage in three-point shooting at .390 to .269.

The Cotton Blossoms have three players that have over 10 points per game to their credit in 2013-14.  The trio accounts for 62 percent of the scoring and 57 percent of the shots taken this season.

Jordan Goforth leads the team with 18.6 points and 4.0 rebounds per game.  Goforth adds a .542 (65-of-120) shooting percentage and a .314 (11-of-35) mark from beyond the arc.  Tamia Grady is next with 16 points and 2.2 boards per game, while Nikki Mullen adds 14 points and 4.6 rebounds per outing.  Mullen is shooting .506 from the field and .449 from three-point range and has taken over half her shots from beyond the arc.

Against the Cotton Blossoms
Last season, the Lady Tigers earned two wins over UAM.  ECU earned a +15.5 scoring and +17.0 rebounding margin in the two games.

The top returners for the Lady Tigers are Ashley Robison and Dilan Webster.  Robison averaged 9.5 points and 10.5 rebounds per game, while Webster added 7.0 points and 8.5 boards.

Jordan Goforth and Raija McWright are the key returners for the Cotton Blossoms.  Goforth averaged 9.5 points and 2.5 boards per games, while McWright added 6.0 points and 3.0 rebounds.

The Series
The all-time series with UAM is currently tied at four games each after the Lady Tigers have been the victors in the past two outings.

Walling Wowing
Junior Erin Walling has been improving all season and had one of the best games of her career against the Evangels.  Walling tallied a career-high 22 points, with career-highs of six field goals and seven free throws.

Robison Crashing the Glass
Senior Ashley Robison had a strong rebounding effort against Mid-American Christian.  The Tulsa, Okla., native tallied a career-best 18 rebounds, two offensive and 16 defensive.  Robison also added 10 points for her first double-double of the season.

Winning Start
The Lady Tigers started 4-0, marking the third time ECU has started 4-0.  The last time was 1989-90.  The Lady Tigers have started a season 4-0 twice (1989-90/1987-88), 5-0 in 2001-02 and 7-0 twice (1995-96/1984-85).

Sharing The Rock
Like a year ago, the Lady Tigers are not afraid to share the spotlight.  All 10 players have scored this season, with four averaging double-digit point totals.  All 10 have also recorded at least one rebound and one assist.

Home Sweet Home
The Kerr Activities Center was very busy in November, with the Lady Tigers hosting the first five games of the season at home.  This marks the first time since 1984-85 that ECU has played five-straight home games to start a season.  That season, the Lady Tigers went 7-0 to start, while ECU is already 3-0 in 2013-14.

Lady Tigers Picked Fourth in the GAC
After finishing fifth in the Great American Conference standings in 2012-13, ECU has been picked to finish fourth in the 2013-14 GAC Preseason Poll, as voted on by the league's head coaches.

The Lady Tigers earned 69 points in the poll.  ECU improved by 11 wins in 2012-13 in going 19-9. Second-Team All-GAC forward Dilan Webster averaged 14.0 points and 7.3 rebounds in league games last season. Ashley Robison and Alycea Price also averaged at least 7.0 rebounds per game in GAC games.

Up Next
The Lady Tigers will continue with GAC action, Saturday, Jan. 4 when they travel to face Southern Arkansas at 2 p.m.